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KENNEDY HANDLES BECERRA
Teon threw plenty of leather in there, and referee Steve Smoger made the decision that Becerra had had enough after ten full rounds. Becerra's record slipped to 20-9 with 9 KOs.
The night opened with a four round super middleweight clash between two Philadelphians. Rashad Brown made a successful pro debut with a shutout of Greg Hackett of Germantown. All three judges gave Brown all four rounds. Lightweight Chris Green, of Asbury Park, beat lanky Deroy Beaton of Toms River, by unanimous decision in a battle of southpaws. All three judges scored it 39-37. I had it 40-36. Green improved to 4-2 (1 KO); Beaton dropped to 1-2. The fight was scheduled for four rounds. In a surprising junior welterweight bout scheduled for four rounds, "Trigger" Trysean Wiggins, Newburgh, NY, dropped late substitute Jason Sosa, Camden, with a looping left in round one. Sosa got up but never recovered from the single punch. Moments later, a barrage from Wiggins returned Sosa to the canvas. Again Sosa gamely fought on, but after a few more shots, was saved by referee Ricardo Vera. The time was 2:02. Sosa had taken the fight on two days notice. It was his first loss (3-1-1, 1 KO). Wiggins won his second straight fight (2-0, 2 KOs). Junior welterweights Julio DeJesus, Franklinville, NJ, and Linwood Hurd, Atlantic City, fought to a four-round majority draw. Two judges, Steve Weisfeld and Milton Whitaker (and this reporter), had it 38-38, overruling judge John Stewart who had it 40-36 for DeJesus (4-2-1, 3 KOs). Hurd left with a record of 3-3-3. The scheduled six-rounder of the night between welterweights Ronald Cruz and Dillet Frederick was scratched in the dressing room when Frederick claimed a hand injury would prevent him from fighting. The card was staged by Peltz Boxing Promotions and broadcast live on the Internet by Go Fight Live. |
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Teon Kennedy ran his unbeaten streak to
17 bouts (16-0-1) last night at Bally's Atlantic City, with
a one-sided victory over game but compliant Alex Becerra of
El Paso. Kennedy hurt his foe several times, as early as
round two, but failed to lower the boom on the overmatched
Texan. Finally after round 10, referee Steve Smoger had seen
enough and stopped the scheduled 12-rounder before the bell
could clang for the 11th. Teon's seventh career KO added the
vacant NABA title belt to his already crowded trophy case,
which will also house the Briscoe Award after next week.
Kennedy,
who now holds both the USBA & NABA super bantamweight
regional belts, was in total control during the fight. I
gave him every round. More importantly, Teon showed the
restraint to not get himself into another brawl, as he's
done so frequently in recent bouts. However, that
self-control may have cost him a clean knockout on this
night. Several times during the fight, Becerra appeared
ready to go, but Kennedy failed to turn up the heat enough
to end the fight. But the TKO eventually came, and Teon got
out without taking many shots. Kennedy did show a little
swelling around his eyes late in the fight, but he took
little punishment in general.
In
the semi-windup, super middleweight Dennis Hasson (11-0)
continued to show improvement in the pro ranks with a
scrappy 8-round decision over fellow-Philadelphian Tommie
Speller. Hasson had to overcome a bad cut above his left
eye, which Speller inflicted with a sharp right hand in
round one. The cut bled steadily for a few rounds before
stemming midway through the fight. But the action was pretty
heavy, and the slice reopened before the finish of the bout.
Speller served as a tough test for
Hasson.
Dennis could hurt Tommie but never put him away. It was a
spirited battle, and for Hasson, another positive step
forward as a professional. The decision was unanimous by
scores of 80-72, 80-72 & 79-73 (I had it 79-73 for Hasson).
The win raised his record to 11-0 with 3 KOs. Speller fell
to 5-5 with 3 KOs.